Meeting you on the Moon
by The Deceiving Maiden
Summary: Johnny died in peace, feeling light as a feather as he couldn't recall having any single regret in his life. Or so he thought when he began to recall them. One of the two oneshots I wrote for the To The Moon Fanzine, Wish Granted!


**Deceiver: One of the two oneshots I wrote for the To The Moon Fanzine, Wish Granted! **** If possible, please check out wishgrantedzine on Tumblr or Twitter to see everyone's amazing work!**

**This one focuses on Johnny and River in the afterlife.**

**Due to going over the word limit for the Zine, the last part was cut out. This is the full version!**

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**Meeting you on the Moon**

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Johnny didn't know why he felt so empty during his last moments.

He could recall he was dreading it, but right now, everything felt alright. He felt at peace even. Slowly opening his weary eyes, Johnny found himself floating within a dark space. It was just him, nothing else but him hugging a familiar-looking platypus close to his chest. He didn't know why he had it, nor know where he was right now, but he took this as him in the afterlife. He didn't feel scared though. In fact, he felt content. At peace even. It was like all the emotional and mental burdens he always carried within his body were gone, allowing him to float freely in this void. Flexing his right wrist, he observed how it moved without the aching pain within the joint, and he found himself smiling.

He was dead. Johnathan Wyles was dead. He knew that much, yet he did not care. He didn't understand why he felt so down during his last moment in the first place, because he could recall how well his life went. River may have left him far too early, but the time with her was still something he loved and cherished the most. She had her quirky moments, yet there were times he also found them to be endearing. The way her eyes sparkled when she saw something interesting. And the way she got so focused on the task at hand, never faltering until she completed what she set out to do. And the way she smiled whenever he managed to make her happy.

They had their rough times – like her falling ill, and how they never got to have children of their own, but they had their best times together. Especially when they got to go to the moon together, which to Johnny was his greatest accomplishment in his life. He could remember it so vividly; how he trained and studied every day for the chance to fly to the moon, a lifelong dream he had ever since he was a child, which he never lost sight on. And when he was finally scouted by NASA, he met River. And together, they accomplished their dreams and flew to the moon together.

It was a wonderful memory. He smiled at the memory of River silently asked for his hand, her eyes gazing elsewhere as she waited. Johnny took it of course and was grateful she was here with him.

The journey to the moon with River just made him feel so complete.

And from there, everything just went so well. He and River got married close to where Anya stood, even building a house near her so River could visit the lighthouse every single day. She got to do that, of course, even though she had to leave so soon due to her illness…

Still, everything else was alright. In the end, Johnny could say he had a good run at life. Actually, he had a great life. Got to spend the rest of his life with the woman he cared about. He also stayed close to his old friends from school. And even with his brother…

_Joey…_

A sudden chill ran down Johnny's spine as he shot up, gripping the platypus in his hands tightly. Cold sweat started to drip down his temple as the thought of Joey somehow sent his thoughts into a frenzy. He didn't understand why he felt like this, as he couldn't find anything wrong or uncomfortable about his brother. Sure, he was their mother's favourite, but they always got along. Joey was a bit of an arse to make fun of him by writing a stupid book about Johnny's attempts on being an astronaut, but Joey changed the ending when he was proven wrong. He also attended his wedding. Helped to build Johnny and River's dream house. And they all got along during their final days.

_He shouldn't be there._

Johnny winced as that thought pierced his mind. Clutching his head, he frowned at why he suddenly thought like that. Joey was supposed to be there. It didn't make sense for him to not be present. They were always together. Always…

_"Joey!"_

Johnny jolted at the memory. Something about this memory felt unfamiliar to him, yet he couldn't help it but tremble at the recollection…

It was a memory that was hidden away a long, long time ago; one he never wanted to recall again.

Yet he was remembering it without his consent.

_A young Johnny was running up to the body of his lifeless brother on the road, desperately shaking his shoulder as he cried out for his twin. "Joey!? Can you hear me?! Joey!" he suddenly turned around and hit his mother angrily with his fists. "Why did you hit Joey, ma!? Why did you hit him!?" _

_There was no response. His mother just sat there, staring at her son in complete silence. Johnny didn't care though. He was still crying and begging for Joey to get up again, refusing to believe he was gone forever._

Trembling, Johnny tried to calm himself down from what he just remembered. He was convinced Joey was alive and well until their dying days, yet he was now completely certain that his twin brother was dead all along. This memory contradicted a lot of memories he had – from Joey always present throughout his life to everything he thought was real. And it felt like this caused all of them to unravel to reveal the bitter truth he had forgotten.

Due to the shock after Joey died, Johnny was given medicine – beta blockers, he recalled now, to erase that tragic memory. He always thought it was normal to not remember what his childhood was like, but now he understood why he never remembered in the first place.

And he didn't just forget about Joey's death.

He forgot about Joey and everything about his childhood.

More memories from back then came to the surface, with Johnny recalling every single one of them. How he was often jealous of Joey being their mother's favourite while Johnny was pushed away in favour of his brother. And despite Joey trying to share, Johnny resented him more than he had ever known. Still, it led Johnny wanting to rebel, defying his mother's instructions and wander astray himself. Away from his mother, and away from Joey.

Like that one time at the carnival, when Joey won a toy train at a wack-a-mole stand. Johnny wanted the toy train too, but his mother chided on his childish tantrum as Joey won it first to begin with. This didn't sit well with Johnny, as he felt it was unfair for Joey to be the only one to get the such an amazing prize, while Johnny got the weird soft toy platypus, even though-

Eyes shot wide open, Johnny looked down at the platypus in his hands, grasping at the familiarity and shock that it was the exact same platypus he won all those years ago. It may have worn down, but the fabric and stitching were the same. Even the way it sat on his lap.

This didn't make sense to Johnny though. He remembered River was the owner of this platypus. And she loved it more than anything else in the world, bringing it everywhere she went. To bed. To visit Anya. Everywhere.

Heck, she even brought it to school, where Johnny first met her-

_No._ Johnny blinked, his forgotten memories making him recall when they really met. Shutting his eyes tight, he dug into his memories to remember it clearly. He was being desperate, and he couldn't stop.

_On a quiet night, when the sky was dark and decorated with billions of shining stars, Johnny handed the soft toy platypus to the girl, who just took it quietly within her hands before studying its features. Her green eyes were bright as she turned the soft toy around and about in her hands._

_Tilting her head, she murmured "It looks so strange…" she continued to stare at it, hugging it a bit to feel its soft fur. "I wish I could win one myself."_

_Now Johnny didn't know this girl well. She didn't give him her name (something about it being bad and would remind people of bathrooms) and had this silly idea on the stars being lonely lighthouses or something. She was even silly enough to think they all shine their lights at each other, and especially at her, just because she would befriend them. He didn't understand what made her think she's that special but didn't say anything. Whatever made her happy, he guessed. And despite her weird personality, she was fun to be with. And she actually made Johnny feel a bit better about himself. Appreciated, even._

_A gentle breeze blew by, rustling the grass, the leaves, and the girl tried to keep her bright red hair from fluttering too much. When it died down, Johnny jolted at the sound of a familiar voice calling out._

_"Johnny!"_

_"Eek! That's ma calling!" he and the girl turned to where the voice came from._

_Turning back to him, the girl offered the platypus back to him. "Here."_

_At first, Johnny just stared at it. He didn't really want this thing anyway…and…_

_"You know what?" he pushed it back to her. "Keep it, it's yours."_

_The girl blinked. "Mine?"_

_"Yeah!" he gave her a big grin as he proudly puffed out his chest. "I can always get another." He jabbed his thumb at his chest, letting out a haughty laugh. "I don't like to brag, but I'm totally the best at that game!" Even though Joey is just as good, Johnny added quietly in his mind._

_The girl just stared at him, hugging the platypus close before glancing up at the stars. Johnny did so too, starting to feel reluctant to leave so soon. This place was beautiful, and they made an awesome constellation together…_

_"Will you be here next year?" she asked after a while, her eyes still on the stars._

_"Yup," he turned to her. "Will you?"_

_"Yes," she nodded._

_"Same place, same time?"_

_"Yes."_

_Satisfied with her simple answer, Johnny grinned at her one more time before hopping over the log to make his way back down the hill. The girl hopped off too, rushing over to him before he got too far. "What if you forget…?" She hugged the platypus tightly in worry. "Or get lost?"_

_Unfazed, Johnny turned to her, full of confidence and glee as he declared to her proudly: "Then we can always regroup on the moon, silly!" he pointed at the constellation they made together – a rabbit made out of the moon and the stars, as he patted his stomach. "Right on the rabbit's tummy!"_

The realization came crashing down on him, completely destroying all his fake memories to make way for the real ones. Johnny clutched his head and screamed, couldn't bring himself to accept what had happened between him and River all this time. Even so, everything made so much sense now. Those gazes River gave him whenever he asked her what's wrong. Her obsessions with the platypus, and later the paper rabbits. He always wondered why she insisted on her wedding dress must be yellow and blue, much like the final paper rabbit she made for him.

All of it was River's own way of trying to make him remember when they truly met, and how that first meeting was never tainted to begin with. For she always treasured the memory of it, even though they hadn't met again in years, with Johnny forgetting and instead approached her with ulterior motives years later.

Burying his face into his hands, Johnny felt more sickened on what he had done. Other than forgetting Joey and River. Other than never understanding what River was trying to tell him. He was also guilty of never realising why he wanted to go to the moon so badly.

Because despite forgetting the promise, he still yearned to see River again and meet her on the moon as promised.

And that 'memory' of him going there with her on a spaceship didn't count.

That was not her.

Therefore, he never truly met her on the moon.

Taking a deep breath in, Johnny let it all out as he stared at his surroundings. There really was nothing here, and he wondered briefly if this was his punishment, until he noticed something was glowing beneath him. It was small, yet it shined so brightly despite it being so far away.

Mesmerized by its glow, Johnny subconsciously started to sink down to get near it. And during the decent, more lights appeared, one by one, but they were much tinier than the one Johnny was going after. They slowly started to litter the darkness with their tiny little light as Johnny sank lower and lower, with the thing below him growing bigger and brighter, to the point Johnny's eyes grew wide as he realised what it was.

It felt like forever, but soon his feet landed on the surface of the moon.

And once he landed, Johnny saw a pair of familiar-looking green eyes staring back at him.

River, still the same as Johnny remembered her before she passed away, was sitting on a log as she stared back at him with wide eyes. Johnny couldn't believe it as well, his eyes starting to water at the sight of his late wife here before him.

They didn't say anything. Too shocked to find anything to say. But taking a deep breath in, River finally spoke.

"You're here."

Johnny could only nod. "Y-Yeah." He couldn't take his eyes off her, watching how River glanced away, her eyes wandering anywhere but back at Johnny.

"Why are you here?" she asked, not looking at him still.

At first, Johnny didn't know how to answer her. He opened his mouth, closing it again as he tried to find the right words.

"I…I want to be here."

River glanced at him for a second, but looked away just as fast. "What else?"

"I…I wanted to see you," he tried again.

"What else?" River didn't even look at him this time.

Staring back at her still, Johnny knew where this was going. With his real memories back now, he could recall how hopeful River always sounded when she asked him questions like this. "I…I don't know."

Silence loomed over them, with River's lips pressed into a thin line as her hands clutched at the skirt of her dress tightly. She didn't say anything, just refusing to look at Johnny again as she quietly lowered her head sadly.

"I don't know why I'm even allowed to be here, after everything I've done to you."

His words caused River to instantly to life her head back up, her bright green eyes wide as Johnny went on. "I didn't remember when I really met you," he told her, getting closer to her as River could do nothing but stare back. "I didn't remember our promise to meet again. I didn't understand why you made all those paper rabbits. Even cutting your hair short. And why you were so upset when I threw that hacky sack away." He hugged the platypus tightly as River continued to stare back at him as he got closer. "And everything else you did to try and make me remember. I…I couldn't really say I forgot though. Maybe I had always known. Because ever since you left, I was lost in the end…and wanted to come here. To be with you again."

Standing before her, Johnny tried to see any sort of reaction from River. Anything. Her eyes were still just as wide. Her mouth was hung open slightly in silence. Johnny was worried his answer never got through to her, but soon her eyes wandered to the platypus he was holding. Looking down, Johnny decided to just wordlessly give it to her.

River reached out for it, and at that moment, when their hands touched, a bright light shone forth and engulfed them. Johnny was blinded, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to see again. It took a while for the light to die down, and once he could see again, a familiar-looking young girl was sitting on the log before him, her hair now bright red and her eyes shining brightly as she hugged her platypus in joy. Looking down at his hands, Johnny noticed they looked smaller, completely smoothed out without any wrinkles, along with him noticing he shrunk a good foot down.

"You remembered," River smiled at him, the brightest smile Johnny had ever seen. Seeing her this happy, Johnny could only smile back and nod, thankful that he was given this chance to meet River again in this place. When she patted the seat next to her, Johnny grinned and rushed over to sit by his side, taking her hand in the process.

She didn't pull away, instead, she squeezed Johnny's hand tightly while hugging her platypus close. Looking up at the night sky, they were in awe at the beauty of it. The stars were all shining down onto them as if congratulating on their reunion. Johnny briefly wondered if Anya was up there too, shining her light on them as well

Despite regretting on rewriting his memories, Johnny actually still found peace now that he was here with River. He was with her on the moon, fulfilling their promise to meet again when they got lost. And he was glad he built that house by Anya's side. He trusted Lily and her children would take care of everything for him. There was nothing to worry about anymore.

_Because everything is alright._


End file.
